April 24, 2009
China to lower soy purchase in US mission
A Chinese trade mission now seeking procurement deals in the US will buy smaller volumes of soy than previous years, according to US and Chinese officials on Thursday (Apr 23).
The week-long trade trip is a fixture on China's trade calendar, which normally brings about large soy orders as the tour takes place in Chicago, home of the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT).
Last year, China imported 8.8 million tonnes of soy but it was reluctant to commit this year as it struggled to cope with the huge wave of imports that reduced farmers' incomes.
The failure to confirm Chinese shipments during the next marketing year, which starts in September, could result in US shipments to be more vulnerable to rival soy trading nations such as Argentina and Brazil.
During the calendar year 2008, China imported 15.4 million tonnes of US soy, an on-year increase of 33 percent as the Chinese government strengthened its reserves and weather problems limited supplies from South America.
China produces about 15 million tonnes of soy yearly but it still falls short of the annual demand of 40 million tonnes.
Major trading houses did not take part in the mission, most notably was COFCO, the country's largest grain trading house and its joint venture crushers.
